• The project,  involving the construction and operation of a new biomass boiler at the Figueira da Foz pulp and paper plant, is a major step in the company’s recent decarbonisation strategy
• Funds are provided under the Investment Plan for Europe

The European Investment Bank (EIB) will support The Navigator Company, a major Portuguese industrial group and Europe’s leading pulp and paper manufacturer, with a €27.5 million loan for the construction and operation of a new biomass boiler at their integrated mill facility located in Figueira da Foz, a cohesion region in Portugal.

This project is the first major step of The Navigator’s decarbonisation strategy, launched recently with the aim of making the company carbon neutral by 2035 (15 years ahead of the EU target of 2050) in line with the Paris Agreement, the EU Green Deal and Portugal’s Roadmap to Carbon Neutrality.

Replacing the existing equipment with a new biomass boiler is part of the company’s investments for offsetting carbon emissions and is seen as crucial for preserving and improving its competitiveness and market presence in a cyclical business sector, especially now amid the far-reaching economic consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic.

This EU bank financing is provided under the Investment Plan for Europe.

The Figueira mill only uses feedstock from forests that are either certified by internationally accredited forest certification systems or considered to be controlled wood. This project will also contribute positively to supporting rural economies and employment in Portugal through the further development of a forest and bioeconomy value chain.

“We are very pleased to support the Navigator Company’s ambitious decarbonisation strategy and their efforts in modernizing production to make it more sustainable and to strengthen their competitiveness. While boosting economic recovery from COVID-19, this project will promote circular economy and help the EU reach its objective of climate neutrality by 2050” said EIB Vice-President Emma Navarro, responsible for the operations in Portugal as well as for the Bank’s climate action. “Climate action and cohesion, along with sustainable growth, continue to be key priorities for the EIB, even amid this pandemic. We are glad to support a project that is strongly contributing to these goals in Portugal and in Europe”.

This is the eighth transaction between the EIB and The Navigator Company with the last operation signed in 2018. In that project, the EIB Group supported The Navigator Company’s investments in innovation and climate action, such as the financing of the modernisation of the Figueira da Foz mill and the upgrade of their production technologies. As a result, energy consumption and the amount of chemicals used were reduced, as were greenhouse gas emissions thanks to fossil fuels being replaced with the greater use of renewable biomass energy.

The EIB is the world’s largest multilateral provider of climate finance. Its goal is to be a leader in mobilising the finance needed to limit the average global temperature increase to 1.5°C compared to pre-industrial levels to meet the Paris Agreement’s objectives. On 14 November 2019, the EIB Board of Directors approved its new climate objectives and the new energy lending policy. The Bank will gradually increase its financing for climate and environmental objectives by up to 50% by 2025, with the goal of ensuring that the EIB Group mobilises at least €1 trillion in the critical decade between 2021 and 2030 to promote investments helping to meet these objectives. It also announced its intention to align all EIB Group activities with the Paris Agreement. To this end, the EIB will cease financing fossil fuel-based projects from late 2021.

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• The agreement between the Municipality of Barcelona and the EIB will promote urban regeneration through investments in energy efficiency and social infrastructure.
• 1 500 jobs will be created during the construction phase as part of the green recovery.
• The projects promoted will help the city’s economic recovery and job creation.

The European Investment Bank (EIB) will finance around 40 projects in Barcelona that aim to support climate change mitigation and adaptation in the city. To this end, the EU bank will provide €95 million to promote urban regeneration, with a focus on the environment but also on social inclusion and job creation to boost the economic recovery in the wake of the COVID-19 crisis.

A significant portion of the EIB funding – up to 25% – will go towards investments to regenerate an area covering some 200 000 m² across the city, reshaping urban design around the concept of “superblocks” to give residents better access to facilities in their neighbourhoods. This involves grouping buildings into blocks where traffic is only permitted around the perimeter and priority is given to pedestrian areas, low-speed zones and recreational green spaces. It is worth noting that Barcelona actually declared a climate emergency in January 2020 and that the investments now being promoted are in line with the declaration’s objectives.

In addition to strengthening the city’s climate resilience, the projects financed under this agreement will promote social inclusion, with the EU bank funds also going to the construction and renovation of educational institutions such as nurseries and schools, sports facilities, a new library and care homes. Around 20 projects will target areas within the city classified as vulnerable. All new social infrastructure will come in the form of nearly zero-energy buildings. The financing provided by the EU bank will also support initiatives to improve energy efficiency, which has been a top priority for the Municipality of Barcelona in recent years. These include initiatives to improve the electricity consumption of public lighting and of municipal buildings and facilities. Improvements will also be made to urban bus lines and cycle lanes across the city.

At the same time, these investments will help boost the economic recovery following the crisis caused by COVID-19, employing 1 500 people during the construction phase.

EIB Vice-President Emma Navarro, who is responsible for the Bank’s operations in Spain, said: “Adapting our cities to a more sustainable model is key to achieving the EU objective of climate neutrality by 2050. As such, one of the EIB’s main priorities is to support urban regeneration to promote clean and inclusive growth that benefits the public while also helping to combat climate change. We are pleased to be signing this agreement with the Municipality of Barcelona to promote investments that will have a huge social and environmental impact on the city. It is yet another example of the EIB’s commitment to a green recovery in Spain.”

Deputy Mayor of the Municipality of Barcelona Jaume Collboni highlighted “Barcelona’s commitment to climate action, the green economy and the green transition to a healthier city and greater well-being for its people. The 40 projects to be implemented through this agreement between the Municipality of Barcelona and the EIB will help drive these green policies, which are a priority for the city. The agreement also comes as some good news as the city grapples with the repercussions of COVID-19, as it will enable the administration to free up money from the budget to better respond to the crisis.”

This is the EIB’s sixth operation in Barcelona facilitating investments in urban infrastructure and social housing. The first was in 1990 with an agreement enabling the renovation of the historic city centre.

The EU climate bank

The EIB is the world’s largest multilateral provider of climate finance. Its goal is to be a leader in mobilising the finance needed to limit the average global temperature increase to 1.5°C compared to preindustrial levels in order to meet the Paris Agreement objectives. On 14 November 2019, the EIB Board of Directors approved its new climate objectives and the new energy lending policy. The Bank will gradually increase its financing for climate and environmental objectives up to 50% by 2025, with the goal of ensuring that the EIB Group mobilises at least €1 trillion in the critical decade between 2021 and 2030 to promote investments helping to meet these objectives. It also announced its intention to align all EIB Group activities with the Paris Agreement. To this end, the EIB will cease financing fossil fuel-based projects from late 2021.

The EIB is the world’s largest issuer of green bonds and was the first organisation to make an issue on this market in 2007.

The timing of EFSA’s assessment of the safety of dietary sugars has been revised due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the review of the exceptionally high volume of scientific information being considered.

A public consultation on the draft scientific opinion is scheduled to take place in the middle of 2021 with final adoption coming before the end of the same year.

EFSA’s nutrition experts are attempting to set a tolerable upper intake level for total/added/free dietary sugars if the available data allow it. Otherwise, other values could be used to characterise the risk. Our scientific advice will help national authorities to establish recommendations on the consumption of dietary sugars and to plan food-based dietary guidelines.

Roma Holocaust Memorial Day on 2 August pays tribute to the Roma victims of the Holocaust. It is a time to remember the 500,000 Roma – representing at least a quarter of their total population at that time – murdered in Nazi-occupied Europe.

The Roma call this genocide Porajmos, the ‘Devouring’ in Romani.

Roma are Europe’s largest ethnic minority. But antigypsyism, hate crime, as well as hate-motivated harassment and discrimination, continue to plague many Roma across the EU, as FRA’s work repeatedly shows.

Around 4 in 10 Roma were victims of hate-motivated harassment or discrimination in the five years before FRA’s survey of Roma across nine EU Member States.

Research due out in September among six further countries will paint a similar picture.

This is a wider societal issue: nearly 1 in 2 Europeans are uncomfortable with Roma as neighbours, according to FRA’s Fundamental Rights Survey.

The COVID-19 pandemic, and government measures to control it, further revealed how entrenched antigypsyism is.

Some governments imposed disproportionate restrictive measures in response to identified infection cases. Prejudice further excluded many Roma.

FRA’s regular bulletins on the impact of coronavirus on fundamental rights repeatedly drew attention to such patterns. This will also be the focus of a thematic bulletin in September.

The EU’s next Framework on Roma equality, inclusion and participation, due out in the autumn, will give Member States a chance to do more to counter longstanding antigypsyism.

The evidence collected before and during the pandemic point to the urgent need to eradicate today’s prevalent prejudice, bias and intolerance towards Roma.

This also involves raising general awareness of, and acknowledging the diversity and history of the Roma people.

Honouring and respecting human rights law, and holding policymakers and governments accountable for the delivery of these legal obligations, can better protect Roma communities across the EU.

This will also be an opportunity to improve the life chances and living standards for Roma, to fully include them in society and build from the past.